


Hypothermia

by ellekim94



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Or Rather I Wrote This At Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 01:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20921618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellekim94/pseuds/ellekim94
Summary: It's autumn and Mingyu hadn't anticipated the weather's being so cold. So he steals the coat from someone's porch.Mingyu goes back a few days later to give it back though.





	Hypothermia

**Author's Note:**

> Based on tiny-pun's autumn prompt from Tumblr:
> 
> https://tiny-pun.tumblr.com/post/179209916613/autumn-prompt
> 
> I feel slightly bad that it's not any of his/her ships tagged though but well, I did what I could, and I just really adore Mingyu and Joshua together.
> 
> I wrote this a few weeks back but thought I'd be able to write more which unfortunately didn't happen so I'm dropping this now before I change my mind.
> 
> Also posted on my AFF account.

The color of the trees are a combination of red, orange, yellow, and green. It is almost rainbow had not violet and blue usually meant dead trees but nevertheless, the color surrounding their streets and the houses are beautiful. It is like a huge garden that is being cultivated by no one and everything is just growing naturally, almost magically, as if everything is just supposed to happen.

Mingyu is taking his time, strolling by the sidewalk of the streets with fallen maple leaves, diligently admiring every tree he passed by, the mixture of the leaves on the ground serving like a grand carpet to him, and every neighbor he meets, smiling and greeting politely like the good kid he is, remembering the greatness of the season, if not for the damn _wind_. He is practically looking for other things to keep his mind busy because he underestimated the coldness of the early November autumn.

And _fuck_, he’d think a boner would be impossible in this weather no matter how hot of a guy is with him.

Mingyu is literally chilling as he wraps his arms around himself, trying to reason with himself that a sane person would go back to his place to get enough clothing to bundle himself up and protect himself in the harshness of the cold weather that he obviously miscalculated, but a greater part of him, the insane part, just wants to stubbornly continue walking. He already walked and endured the gust of the wind freezing his face every time it blows for about half a mile. Somehow, the idea of walking half a mile in this death-defying coldness is better than going back and walking another two miles in warmth and comfort. Besides, he would only have to endure for another half until he reaches Minghao’s place and hopefully, there is hot chocolate there.

But then, every step Mingyu takes is like a step closer towards death as a sudden gush of strong wind sends chills up to the smallest cell in his body that he could feel himself practically exposed to nitrogen and slowly crumbling down like that man in _that_ movie who died. _Yes_, died. Except that he isn’t crumbling down and vanishing but is enduring a second, third, fourth wave of that same coldness, if not stronger and more fatal.

He has it in him to look around to see if there is a witness to his own stupidity of being out there in the cold autumn afternoon with nothing but a thin jacket. Fortunately, there is no one, which means that no one is stupid enough like him to go out in that breeze. Every neighbor he meets is either getting in their cars or getting inside their homes anyway. They are inside the safety and warmth of their own houses or they are driving their cars towards the place they wanted to go to, unlike him who thought walking and seeing the beauty of autumn that afternoon is the best idea while looking forward to meet with his bandmate.

Looking around, there is one thing that catches Mingyu’s eyes. His eyes sparkles when he notices a really thick-looking, warm-seeming coat hanging on the house barely ten feet away from where he is currently standing. It is sitting there so quietly, so peacefully that it almost seems like it is calling out to Mingyu and maybe this is the moment when Mingyu is beginning to lose his mind due to the coldness that he believes there could be other ways for a coat to sit besides _quietly_ and _peacefully._ But still, the brown coat looks so inviting and tempting and in that coldness, he couldn’t exactly think much anymore when he decides to just grab the coat (but still checking if there is someone around because of course, he is not _that_ stupid) and wrap himself with it.

And it is _so_ warm. The coat is made for that weather, _stupid autumn_, and it is neither too thick nor too thin. It is perfect for that afternoon and Mingyu believes there is a reason why the coat is just there, hanging on the porch of that small house with a garden of daisies. He had taken a brief glance before quickly walking away in case someone living inside that house sees him. He feels a little guilty because what if that is the last coat this person owns or what if it is an entire family who is supposed to share that coat (okay, he doesn’t know how but _what if)_? But he shakes his head and remembers he should survive, too. He’d honestly think that standing in the middle of the road with that wind would kill him any second longer.

There is already some bass playing when he walks at his friend’s front yard which means he’s probably late. He arrives at Minghao’s place in one piece though, breathing that afternoon’s cold autumn wind calmly with his hands warmly on the _stolen _brown coat’s pockets. He rings the bell, calling Minghao’s name with a smug look in his place like he is saying, _fuck you, autumn, I win._

Except that the moment Minghao opens his door, he recognizes _not _the coat and asks, “Where’d you steal that from, dude?”

Mingyu’s jaw falls as he stares at Minghao. “How…”

“So you _did _steal it,” Minghao chuckles, smirking at his friend’s stupidity. “Seriously, Gyu, if you’re going to be a thief, you shouldn’t be caught this easily.”

Damn it, Mingyu thinks bitterly. It’s not like he stole that coat just to _steal_. But he still wonders how the tell did Minghao easily caught up on the first crime he did his entire life. He’ll definitely not be a hypocrite and call himself a good person — he’s _not _and he has done things — but he’s not a criminal, too.

“It’s not your style,” Minghao explains without Mingyu asking. “I know the coat’s not yours.”

“I’m going to return it,” Mingyu declares, or grumbles, pulling the coat out of his body and staring at it like he can literally imagine the owner crying and looking for the only coat they own and practically freezing because of coldness. It’s not a good thought but it’s exactly his position not a long time ago.

Minghao turns to look at him, as if looking back to see if he’s serious or not. Seeing Mingyu’s face, he knows he doesn’t need to ask if the other is serious or not. “Sure,” he mutters, giving him a funny look. He seriously can’t understand what’s more stupid, stealing an old coat or _returning _it.

—

Mingyu did _some _stalking and by some, he means he finds himself more in Minghao’s neighborhood, with plenty of layers protecting himself from the freezing coldness of the weather because he can’t stalk the house he stole something from and be caught with the thing he stole. He just wants to see _who _he stole the damn coat from.

Well, the damn coat that protected him from dying, alone and cold, on the streets a week ago.

He knows he is stalling but if it’s cop he stole a coat from, there’s definitely no way he’s returning it anymore. He’ll just bury it and put himself under some hypnosis like nothing happened at all. But he can’t seem to catch anyone who lives in that house despite his efforts.

Sighing, he walks up and greets the daisies in front of the house, grumbling, like he’s not sure if this is even the right thing. But he can explain that he didn’t mean to _steal_, right? He can just tell the owner that he’s just dying at that time and he had no choice. That he’d die if not for that owner’s coat. The owner might take pity on him and not report him.

He probably stands by the door for a good thirty minutes, putting his finger on the bell and abruptly bringing it down again. He almost leaves already but there’s this part in him who just _really _wants to return the coat. It’s been sitting on his room for a week and it’s not staring back at him kindly. It’s like the coat is telling him _how could you steal me _or something, full of spite.

And now, he’s here. He takes a deep breath and finally pushes that bell.

“Yes?” The door opens after a minute to a young guy, around Mingyu’s age, he thinks, but unlike Mingyu, his face is gentler, he is petite and looks like he has _not _stolen anything in his entire life, or needs to, anyway. His face crunches up in a confused expression when he sees Mingyu, probably thinking why is a stranger standing on his porch. He stands up still and politely asks in a steady voice, “Can I help you?”

“I - Uh,” Mingyu starts, _not _knowing where to start. How do you even return something you stole anyway? He probably should have convinced Minghao to come with him because he’s neighbors with this guy after all. Maybe he can help explain that he’s not a criminal.

_Fuck this_, he figures. If he’s getting sued for stealing a coat, he probably deserves it, Mingyu decides as he brings the brown coat he’s been holding behind him (because he’s still thinking of just burying it and forget the whole ordeal _if _the owner’s a cop, but seeing he’s not) and holds it in front of him, between him and the guy. “My name’s Kim Mingyu and I’m here to return your coat,” he says, and now that he’s said that, it sounds _absolutely _stupid even to him.

He should run, he thinks to himself. He really should run.

There’s a beat of silence and he can feel the other guy just staring at him but with his head down, he can’t see _how _the guy is staring at him. He can’t figure out if the guy is already deciding, or has decided, whether to call the cops on him now.

Then, he feels the coat get lifted from his hands as the guy speaks, “May I ask how _my _coat came to your possession?”

Mingyu takes this chance to look up but even when he looks up, the guy is simply looking at him, and he can’t read the expression on his face. He stammers, “I st — I mean, I borrowed it,” he says instead, looking down again. “Last week,” _I almost died on the street and thought your coat looked really nice and warm and I stole it, _“I borrowed it.”

“You borrowed it?” There is definitely more to that question, Mingyu thinks.

“Yeah,” Mingyu nods.

“Without my knowledge?”

Mingyu looks up at him again and sees there’s nothing changed in the guy’s expression. He’s probably contacting the cops on his phone behind him right now. “Yeah,” he slowly says. Then, without thinking anymore, he confesses because he doesn’t really want to be the first person in their family who has criminal charges because of a _freaking coat_, “I’m really, really sorry I took your coat without asking. It’s just that, I have no car, and I was walking last week, and I know it’s stupid, but I didn’t realize it’s going to be that cold, and I was _practically _dying and freezing, and even my balls had dried up,” and at this point, he’s not sure if that is necessary but the guy’s a _guy_, too, and he thinks he’d understand more if he puts it that way, “and then I saw your coat on your porch and it’s like heaven sent it down to me to save me, you know, and…”

“You stole it,” the guys finishes for him, now his expression playing between amusement and wonder.

“Yeah,” Mingyu admits without thinking twice about it. He mutters _fuck _to himself right after realizing he just confessed.

This time, the guy actually snickers at him as he holds the coat to his chest and looks at Mingyu and it’s clear that he’s judging Mingyu right now although Mingyu doesn’t know what his _judgment _is given that the guy is smirking at him now.

“And now you’re returning the coat you stole,” the guy finishes his assessment at him, still with that amused expression. “Why?”

Mingyu thinks that this _return _will take no time and that he’ll just give back the coat and he’ll either get picked up by cops or go back to his boarding house. However, he didn’t think one of the scenarios would be him explaining why he’s returning the damn coat. He stares at the other guy as if he is judging him as well why he’s asking what he’s asking. He honestly couldn’t think why does it even matter?

But just to finish it already, he looks at him and honestly tells him, “I felt guilty.” He said with a deep sigh, “I thought that _that _coat could be the owner’s last coat and something and that I stole it to get warm but someone else could be dying of coldness.” Then, he looked at him and said lastly, “I didn’t really mean to steal it…“

“Joshua,” the guys offers.

Mingyu looks at him for a second. “I didn’t mean to steal it, Joshua.” He shuffles his feet and moves to leave. If the cops are going after him, he should at least call his parents and tell them what happened before they bail him out of jail, if they will.

Just like heaven's joke, a blizzard of bone-chilling, flesh-eating cold autumn downpour suddenly decides to come in town.

Damn, why don't you _just _come already, you fucking winter?, Mingyu thinks full of spite. He’s wearing a comfortable layer of clothes but he _only _protected himself from the wind. They’re not going to do him any good if it’s raining and they get soaked. He’s still going to die from the cold.

He doesn’t even have an umbrella.

They stare at each other for a whole minute before Joshua moves out of the door and calmly says, like letting a stranger who apparently stole his coat is the most normal thing in the world. "Well, aren't you coming in?"

Mingyu stares at him, blinking, and there's a part in him that's deeply questioning Joshua's reasoning because yes, he is returning his coat because yes, he stole it. But there's also that part in him, a greater part, that wants to thank the heavens for Joshua's kind heart.

Technically, borrowed, Mingyu seethes his teeth, shivering. Up until this year when autumn decided to marry winter and come almost together, he's been a law abiding citizen.

"You're going to let me in?" Mingyu asks, just to be sure, because he’s _not _going to have a trespassing charge on top of theft.

Joshua shrugs and gives him a look as if he's saying this is supposed to be a no brainer. "Something tells me that if you're returning a coat you _stole_," he looks at him, emphasizing the last word and smirking when Mingyu winces as if he wins, and then his face softens as he continues, "that you're not a bad person."

"Oh." Mingyu intelligibly mutters, looking at Joshua while kicking that part in him who wants to embrace him tightly because he is such a good person.

"So, are you coming in or do you want to freeze to death after working so much on _stealing _my coat and then returning it?"

Mingyu grimaces but takes a step inside.

Joshua's house is... normal, Mingyu notes, and he blames the cold for his useless observations because normal shouldn't be noted. He's the only one noting normal (besides, what even is normal?) It has a spacious living room with a nice television set and huge windows. On the right side of the living room is the kitchen with a small table and two chairs. The kitchen is right there on the dining room, sparkling clean with no speck of dust (is dust supposed to be in the kitchen anyway?) or leftover food or dirty dishes, all of which describes Mingyu's kitchen on his room at his boarding house.

"Do you live alone?" Mingyu asks, looking around.

"Why, are you planning on robbing the house and murdering me now?" Joshua asks seriously but when Mingyu shots his head at him, he is only smiling in fond and amusement.

"No, I just…” Mingyu looks down because he can't seem to comprehend how someone can just accuse someone of plotting robbery and murder and have that face. It's... warm and sort of endearing. Mingyu mentally curses himself for having to look away because damn, that expression is beautiful but he doesn't trust himself in his actions if he doesn't tear away his stare. He might get sued for sexual harrassment aside from robbery _and _trespassing. "It's just a question," he mutters, still looking down. "You don't have to answer it if you don't want." And then, he sighs like he’d just come in for a trial, "I swear I'm not a criminal. If you could just —“

He hears some rustling in the kitchen and when he looks up, Joshua is gracefully walking around, picking mugs, and brewing something. He watches him soundlessly, standing there and being aware that he looks like a complete idiot, arms around himself, chilling on a stranger's house, the same stranger he stole a coat from and thought it was just right to give him back the coat.

Mingyu is still busy with his self-loathing when Joshua appears in front of him with mugs on both his hands. His face is somewhat serious but there is a glint of sparkle in his eyes. He extends his right hand and seems to be offering one of the mugs to Mingyu.

The stranger to the house stares at the mug, it's steam fogging his vision but he can't look away. It smells like hot chocolate with something else. Even if that something else is poison and Joshua means to kill him with it (and he deserves it for allowing himself to be a criminal, Mingyu bitterly thinks to himself), he still needs to be sure. "For me?" he slowly asks, his eyes returning to Joshua with utter confusion.

Joshua sighs but he doesn't take back the mug on his stretched hand. "I live alone," he says, in an as a matter-of-fact tone, like he's informing the obvious, "and I don't see anyone else around. Seriously, do you want to freeze to death? I mean, you stole my coat but I don't want you dying on my place."

Mingyu makes a face at being reminded on that _one_ crime again. One crime. That one crime he committed in his entire life. He wants to go back to that moment when he decided to become a criminal because of this fucking autumn and question himself and everything that happened in his life before that moment that made him a petty criminal. He never thought a coat would be the thing to destroy his life. He used to think it'd be games, or music, or fruitshakes, he'd gladly die for fruitshakes especially coconut fruitshakes, but never a goddamn coat. It's not even designer's.

And the thought of dying because of it through poisoning, Mingyu grimaces. He's not that fond of dying through poisoning. It's not pretty. It's not just cool. The gagging noises you make as you try to catch the breath you will never catch anymore and the face you will make as you do is such an ugly sight. Even as a criminal, he still thinks he wants to look the best when he dies. He owes his parents that much.

As if reading his thoughts, Joshua shatters it all by drinking from the mug on his left hand and taking back the one on his right to drink from it, too. "No poison," he smirks at him. "I'm rather creative, you see."

Mingyu knows he is visibly relieved when Joshua drinks from both of the cups but he looked alarmed and incredulous as he asks, "What do you mean creative?"

"I'm taking fine arts," Joshua answers innocently as he hands Mingyu one of the mugs, like there are no other meaning to what he said.

But Mingyu has watched too many horror movies to know exactly what Joshua meant when he said _creative._ He knows he is unlucky sometimes but why did he have to steal the coat of a serial killer who debones and skins his victims before killing them through pounding nails in their skull and counting how many will it take before their victim actually dies?

There is a play of horror in his face and it seems like Joshua is enjoying it because he chuckles as he motions Mingyu towards the living room.

"I'm not going to do anything you're imagining right now," Joshua tells him, reading his thoughts.

“Huh - _What?!_” Mingyu is still very much fearing for his life because there are lots of serial killers who tell their victims their intent of killing but there are also lots who just hand mugs with chocolate without poision with a hammer on their backs. He really shouldn't have stolen that damn coat. He thinks how his parents would react to his body with his head smashed and his face unrecognizable (so much for trying to look his best as he dies) and feels guilty because it's not their fault they raised a thief.

"Look, if you want to go now, be my guest, but the rain is too strong and I doubt you'll last a minute outside," Joshua tells him when he doesn't move from where he is standing, his hand cupped on the mug he is holding for warmth with the thought that at least he'll die warm and with someone (even though said someone is potential killer) because he thinks the worst combination of dying is when it's cold and he's alone. "But if you're not leaving, stop standing there in the hallway and holding the mug like a big idiot and actually drink it because I know you're still damn freezing."

The cold may be seeping through his brain because that is not kindness and concern he hears from an absolute stranger he stole a coat from. Mingyu stares at him, like he is questioning everything he believed in his life so far.

"I am not going to hurt you over an old coat, okay?" Joshua continues when Mingyu still doesn't make a move and is merely staring at him, quite exasperated. He makes a wincing face at him and adds, "Or anyone. I know the weather's really shitty lately and I don't blame you for choosing not to die on the streets and stealing someone else's coat instead. Although it's _still_ stealing but what I'm saying is," he doesn't finish what he is saying because Mingyu suddenly collapses on the floor, the mug breaking the moment it hits and the chocolate spreading like wildfire.

Joshua quickly jumps from his couch and grabs Mingyu before the chocolate reaches him. It might have simmered a little but it's still hot.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" he worriedly asks, cradling Mingyu's head in his lap and holding both of Mingyu's cheeks for warmth.

"Cold," Mingyu mutters, shivering. He still thinks there's a huge possibility that Joshua is a serial killer because serial killers look nice, too (okay, he did _not _just think that) but the most important thing in his mind right now is he's freezing and this person is cupping his cheeks, his breath warm against his face, and he just wants to stay there like that.

"That's why I told you to come near the fire, you idiot," Joshua scolds him lightly. helping him stand up and leading him to the living room.

He is smaller than Mingyu by a couple of centimeters or so but he helps Mingyu by the fire in no time and with no problem, his arm helping him by the waist while the other on the shoulder. He disappears for a few seconds and then comes back with a thick blanket, draping it all over Mingyu's body. Then, he carefully cleans the broken mug and the chocolate that is spilled on his floor before it dries and thickens. He murmurs to himself about getting a new mug.

By the time he finishes, Mingyu is already sitting up, his face looking like a contortion of self-loathing, guilt, embarrassment, and many more.

"I told you I don't want you dying on my place," Joshua tells him like he is scolding a child, and like dying on his place is just like hanging out while playing games.

Mingyu takes that because Joshua didn't have to let him inside. He didn't have to make him a mug of hot chocolate with no poison. He didn't have to help him by the fire and give him a blanket to warm his frozen body. But he _did _even though Mingyu stole his coat.

"Sorry," Mingyu looks down, fiddling with the ends of the blanket.

Joshua raises his eyebrow because there's something in the sight of Mingyu fiddling with the blanket like a big and adorable baby that just warms something inside him. "For stealing my coat, for fainting on the floor, for spilling the hot chocolate, or for breaking the mug?"

"For thinking you're a serial killer," Mingyu murmurs, his face heating up in what he knows should be the color of a rotten tomato.

Joshua knows it's the middle of autumn and there's a dead coldness of autumn air in the town but it seems like a garden of flowers bloom in his heart like spring and his entire being just warms. He can't help it that he chuckles, holding his stomach as Mingyu looks at him with a dejected expression.

"Don't laugh, I really thought —”

"You're so cute," Joshua tells him, still chuckling, wiping some tears from the corner of his eyes because of laughing too much. He doesn’t think he’s laughed that much in weeks and for this reason, because of a stranger who stole his coat, returned it, and _thought _he is a serial killer.

Mingyu's face that hasn't recovered from his earlier embarrassment turns a brighter shade of red again after what Joshua said. He looks down and thinks fiddling with the blanket is a better idea than looking at Joshua who is still laughing (at him) because he notices Joshua looks a lot better when he's laughing, his eyes turning into moon crescents and his mouth curved into a bigger version of a moon crescent, except it also looks like a heart, and Mingyu realizes he likes the moon in Joshua’s eyes and a heart in Joshua's lips a lot.

Not that he likes him or anything, no. Not at all.

"And sorry, too," he continues, muttering to the blanket, "for stealing your coat, for fainting on the floor, for spilling the hot chocolate, and for breaking the mug." He recites it as if he is in front of a priest, confessing, with a deep sigh at the end.

Then, he looks at Joshua like a cold, lost puppy, which, in Joshua's point of view, he truly seems, a cold, lost puppy except he's a big fluff of a boy who decided he had too much of autumn for the year already, but just as adorable.

Joshua can't help but take off all the facade of pointing at a criminal and just smile at him genuinely, but alternatively, it's not just Mingyu who feels warm with it but it seems filling Joshua as well. "The coat's really fine, forget about it already," he admits, feeling sheepish about everything he said to Mingyu that the other might have taken to heart (Joshua kind of know he did and feel guilty about it), "and everything else is, well, collateral damage."

Mingyu stares at him for a moment, calculating whether he should forget about spending a few years in jail already, before deciding that Joshua’s face is telling the truth. Or at least, his eyes and his smile are. Feeling contented, he breathes a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay now?” Joshua asks tentatively, walking towards Mingyu and sitting on the couch. “Not feeling like collapsing again?” There’s a hint of teasing in his voice and Mingyu thinks they’ve already come a long way from him being a criminal up to this point.

Mingyu’s face flushes red from embarrassment and he thinks playing with the blanket is more interesting than looking at Joshua’s amused face staring at him. “I’m,” he begins, fiddling with the ends of the blanket again, “_really _weak in cold weather.” He sighs again and figures he should explain more since he collapsed on Joshua anyway and he feels like Joshua is still staring at him, waiting for him to talk more.

“My body doesn’t like cold that much so I’m quite vulnerable to hypothermia,” he explains softly. “It’s like my body loses heat faster than it can produce heat. When my body temperature drops, my heart, nervous system and other organs can't work normally, or that’s what the doctor told me the last time I had it and my friends had to bring me to the hospital. That’s why I, uh, I also tend to collapse,” he glances at Joshua and he shouldn’t have because he is looking at him with such gentleness that does something to this stomach, like it’s flipping but he doesn’t want to throw up. He just wants to wrap his arms around Joshua because he looks warm and he doesn’t exactly understand what does that have to to with the flipping in his stomach. “Left untreated, hypothermia can eventually lead to complete failure of my heart and respiratory system and eventually to death.”

“You had cases of _that_ before?” Even without looking, Mingyu can hear the scowl in Joshua’s voice. “And you _had _collapsed before? You _had _been brought to the hospital before?”

“Uh - yes,” Mingyu admits even though his gut tells him he shouldn’t because Joshua doesn’t sound too happy with what he just told her. He’s not sure why though. “It was Wonwoo’s birthday,” he automatically explains, like Joshua’s supposed to know who _Wonwoo_ is. “And he was really looking forward to skiing and all the other boys had agreed to it and I was no exception and we all just really wanted to give him a nice birthday present so all of us went skiing.”

He waits for what Joshua will say for a _long _time until he has to look up because Joshua might have left already or something but Joshua’s still there and he just says when he meets Mingyu’s eyes. “You’re an idiot.”

“Wha—“

“Always take care of yourself first,” Joshua tells him, his voice firm but there’s softness in those doe-like eyes. “You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. If, say, I didn’t forget that coat outside, and you suffered — _what’s that called again?”_

“Hypothermia.”

“And you suffered hypothermia again,” Joshua continues, “are you just going to die in coldness, alone in the streets? If you didn’t see my coat, is your heart just going to stop and you can’t do anything about it?”

Mingyu stares at him because he’s damned if Joshua’s _not _suggesting that he’s lucky he forgot his coat on his porch that day and Mingyu saw it, that Joshua’s actually glad that he did because it saved Mingyu, and that there’s concern edged in that scold Joshua’s giving him, from an absolute, beautiful and kind stranger. His stomach _does _that flip again.

“Sorry,” he can only mutter.

“Don’t say sorry to _me_. I’m not the one you’re going to kill because of your carelessness.” Now Joshua sounds _borderline _friends, or even more, to Mingyu’s ears and he can’t say he doesn’t like it. Then, exasperated, he looks at Mingyu again who is pouting at the blanket and adds, “Sorry, I get worked up when people don’t know how to take care of themselves. I’m a psych major, actually.”

“Not fine arts?”

“I was just messing with you earlier,” Joshua shrugs.

Mingyu grimaces at him.

“Anyway,” Joshua continues because the point here is Mingyu should know how to take care of himself and not him lying about what he’s taking and messing with Mingyu, “take care of yourself better.”

“Okay,” Mingyu answers, looking like a child being told to get washed up.

“Or,” Joshua continues, his eyes edging on something.

“Or?”

“Get yourself someone who can warm you up in the cold.” Joshua grins at him and seems to be enjoying the display of red in Mingyu’s face (_Seriously, he’s adorable, _Joshua thinks to himself) before he continues, “Like someone who can hold your hand in the cold, or who’ll remind you to bring extra coats instead of looking at houses in the neighborhood if someone left a coat on their porch and stealing it.”

Mingyu forgets his initial bewilderment and embarrassment at Joshua’s earlier suggestion as he whines, “Will you _please _drop that already? It’s one time! And I returned it!” The other only laughs at him and Mingyu watches him, a small smile forming on his face as well, as he thinks to himself about buying mugs later.

He thinks if he replaces Joshua’s mug that he _accidentally _broke, Joshua would forget about the stolen coat already. Actually, even if he does_n’t_, seeing Joshua again doesn’t seem to be a bad idea at all.

_End_  


**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope anyone who takes his/her time to read this finds it just as enjoyable.
> 
> xo


End file.
